Paging the Crime Doctor
| season = 1 | number = 65 | image = File:Paging_Crime_Doctor.jpg | imagewidth = 250 | airdate = September 17, 1993 | director = Frank Paur | writer = | story = Mike W. Barr Laren Bright | teleplay = Randy Rogel Martin Pasko | music = Shirley Walker | previous1 = The Worry Men | next1 = House & Garden | previous2 = Mudslide | next2 = Zatanna }} Paging the Crime Doctor is an episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series. It is notable as it introduces the character of Matthew Thorne, the "Crime Doctor" to the series. "Paging the Crime Doctor" was the 53rd produced episode and the 65th and last episode of the first season to be aired. Synopsis Dr. Matthew Thorne, a formerly respectable surgeon who lost his licence after sheltering his brother Rupert Thorne from the police and once a friend of Dr. Thomas Wayne and Leslie Thompkins, is reduced to acting as a mob doctor. When Rupert is critically injured, his brother coerces Leslie to assist with the surgery. But the recovering mob boss wants no witnesses, and Matthew is forced to decide where his real loyalities lie. Plot An armored car is attacked by a group of men and they steal the content the car was carrying. The group of men get the package and they escape from the place. Batman follows them and after struggling for a while, he manages to make them crash their car. Batman then fights one of them, while the second man opens the package they just stole and takes a laser gun from inside. The man fires the laser towards Batman, who is stunned by the impact. One of the crooks seize the chance to punch Batman and throw him off the edge of the bridge they were standing on. After a while, they decide to leave, thinking that Batman fell to his certain death. Unknown to them, Batman landed on a cable car but is unconscious. The thugs reach their final destiny, which is a clandestine medical center for criminals. They meet up with Rupert Thorne, who is at the medical center to visit his brother Matthew Thorne. Rupert provides Matthew with the recently stolen device so he can actually make some serious operations. Matthew is upset with his brother for causing him to lose his medical licence a long time ago. They discuss and after a while Rupert starts having heart troubles and he falls to the ground. At that moment, at the Thomas Wayne Memorial Free Clinic, Leslie Thompkins is visited by a wounded Batman. Leslie checks him and tells him that he's got a minor concussion and tells him to rest for the day. Matt Thorne has checked his brother and he tells him that he's got a tumor in his heart and that he need to take Rupert to a proper hospital, but he refuses. Rupert wants to be operated at all cost in Matt's clinic but it is impossible for Matt to do it alone. Rupert asks Matt if there is another person that he can get in order to operate him and Matt remembers of his old friend Leslie. Rupert sends his men along with Matt to talk to Leslie to operate Rupert for the old times, but she refuses to go with them so they force her to come along. Meanwhile at the Batcave, Batman analyzes a piece of fabric he managed to obtain from one of the thugs and discovers a direct connection to Rupert Thorne. Bruce and Alfred go to Leslie's place and find it empty and a complete mess. Bruce analyzes the scene and finds an old picture of Leslie and his father, Thomas, takes it and reads the back of it, where there's a written message signed by Matt. Bruce doesn't know who Matt is and asks Alfred about it. While Alfred tells him the story of three good old friends, Bruce finds a school's yearbook and finds Matthew Thorne's picture. Realizing the connection to Rupert, he deduces where Leslie is. Matt and Leslie's operation is successful and Leslie is ready to leave the place when some of Rupert's thugs tell Matt that they have to kill Leslie under Rupert's orders. Matt tricks them and tries to help Leslie to escape from the place. Batman arrives at that moment and takes down some of Rupert's thugs and follows Leslie and Matt to the rooftop. Matt and Leslie find themselves cornered at the rooftop and Matt decides to leap to the nearby building. With a lot of effort he managed to do it, but Leslie can't make it. Matt grabs her arms and prevents her fall while a thug is shooting at them. Batman takes down the gunner and then he jumps to catch Leslie before she fell to the ground. A while later, Matt is in jail and is visited by Bruce Wayne, who promises to help him to get out of prison and recover his licence, but Bruce tells him that first he wants something in return. Matt doesn't want to hear anything about illegal business and refuses to help Bruce. However, Bruce tells Matt that he only wants to know more about his father, since they were very close friends. Matt is touched by the question and he gladly starts telling Bruce all about Thomas Wayne. Cast Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Directed by Frank Paur Category:Written by Laren Bright Category:Soundtrack by Shirley Walker Category:Animation by Dong Yang Animation Category:Rupert Thorne Episodes Category:Character Debut Episodes